World-Check Terrorism Database Leak

Security researcher Chris Vickery has discovered an unprotected World-Check database containing two million details about people and organisations suspected of being involved in terrorism, organised crime and money laundering, among other offences. Although much of the data is aggregated from the public domain, the Data Protection Act requires personal information to be kept secure, regardless of whether it has been collated from public sources. Luke Brown, VP and GM EMEA, India and LatAm at Digital Guardian commented below.

Luke Brown, VP and GM EMEA, India and LatAm at Digital Guardian:

 “Organisations have a duty of care, not to mention legal obligation, to protect data. It doesn’t matter if the contents of that data are good, bad or ugly. If you store it, you have to look after it. A simple mistake like this can have life-altering effects for those caught in the middle and whilst businesses often recover, it’s the victims that continue to pay the price.”